Emily Gosden, Energy Editor

The Times

Royal Dutch Shell has suffered a setback in its push into green energy after losing out to Mitsubishi in the €4 billion battle for a Dutch power utility.

The Anglo-Dutch energy group had been pursuing the acquisition of Eneco in a joint bid with PGGM, a Dutch pension fund service provider, but it was beaten yesterday by the Japanese conglomerate.

Maarten Wetselaar, head of Shell’s “new energies” division, said that he was “disappointed” but would continue to look for other opportunities in the transition to greener energy.

Shell reported profits of $24 billion last year, primarily from producing and selling oil and gas, but it is expanding into the electricity sector as it comes under pressure from shareholders to adapt to the global shift to…